Lives of Kings (7 page)

Garrison clicked his fingers a few times. Nothing happened, though after a minute, a small tornado appeared between his hands.

“What can we do to stop it?” he asked, opening his arms and expanding the cyclone. “Can we blow it back?”

“A wave?” Moira said. “No way. You'll probably just make it worse. And you'd need a lot of wind.”

“Can we build something?” Seth asked.

I shook my head. “The earth here is too weak and flimsy. The sand will never hold.”

We stood silent for a minute, thinking. Garrison played with the wind between his hands, lost in thought, while I absent-mindedly scorched a leaf between my fingers. I only realized it when the ash fell from my hand.

“There may be something,” Seth said finally. “About magic. I remember that magic like this is created. It's built just like anything else from the ingredients that make it work. The power that the magicians have is cobbled together from a bunch of little things — it's why they needed us. Maybe Moira and I can unravel it somehow and quiet it down?”

The rules of magic and power were a foreign language to modern Gwen, and yet as I stood and used even small bits of magic, I knew the past Gwen was coming forward. She understood Seth's words. Maybe he was letting his past self through too, and perhaps sacrificing our identity was just the price we had to pay.

“That's as good a plan as any,” Garrison said. He took a few steps back toward the town and then suddenly stopped. On the fringes of the jungle, Ari was cowering from us, his eyes wide with fear.

“What are you?” he yelled.

His tone implied a calm conversation was out of the question.

“We can explain,” Moira started, trying to defuse the situation.

“No, we can't,” Garrison said. “Not now. Maybe later, but not now.” He stomped his foot. The earth grew around Ari's feet and held him in place. The poor man nearly wailed with fright. I felt bad for him, but we couldn't get wrapped up in this. We had bigger problems.

“Ari,” Garrison said. “Where do most earthquakes happen?”

“Please don't hurt me,” he replied.

Now I really felt bad for him. Garrison didn't have the softest look in his eyes. I could see how the situation might seem dangerous. I began to step forward, but Seth stopped me.

“Let him do this,” he whispered.

“He's acting weird,” I replied.

“Only doing what you said,” Seth said, raising his eyebrows. Understanding dawned on me. Garrison was letting his memories rule. “Exactly,” Seth added.

Garrison looked out into the ocean. “Please,” he said, his tone firm, “tell me where the earthquakes come from.”

“The ocean,” Ari replied. He still looked at us like we were demons. When Garrison didn't move, he added, “To the southeast. Usually.”

“Great, thanks,” Garrison said, and headed toward town at a jog. Moira and Seth followed, though I still hesitated. I didn't know why I felt so bad. I never wanted anything about me to cause someone fear.

“You're leaving me here?” the man yelled.

“Don't worry,” I told him. “It's for your own good.”

“What if there's a tsunami?”

I considered. “Well, then we're all in trouble, so it doesn't matter.”

It wasn't a very consoling thought, but I didn't have any of those. I ran to catch up to the others. By the time we got into town, several hours had passed since we were in the hut with the witch doctor.

The sun was getting low. It shot red evening light across the island. Seeing people milling around, cleaning up objects that had fallen during the smaller shakes, made me nervous. Did they suspect this was just the beginning? Did they have any plans?

“Why here?” I asked Garrison.

“It's like in battle,” he replied. “If you're weak and outnumbered, you hit the weakest defence. They don't have much magic. They'll target any faults that already exist in the land.”

“Everything looks fine here,” Seth said, looking out onto the ocean.

Then, just as my heart was beginning to slow and exhaustion was setting in, the ground rolled beneath me. It happened so fast I could only take in the screams from all around. I heard a building crumble and car horns going off. I could barely stay on my feet, and Seth fell on all fours.

“I can feel the magic in this,” he yelled above the noise. “It's thick, like a knot.”

I wasn't really listening. Since we were on high ground, I caught sight of the beach simply falling way. Water sloshed back-and-forth, burying anyone who was out there in strong waves.

I froze. It reminded me of New York when the ocean had surged to engulf the pier. Kian and I had run then, because I wasn't strong enough to do anything about it. Resolve now began to overtake fear, and I did as Kian had taught me — tuned everything out and looked deep inside myself for the past and for my magic.

I planted my feet and let it flow over me. Every tremble I traced back to its origin. Ari was right — it was somewhere to the southeast. Finally, it stopped. The car horns remained. Screams were amplified.

“I don't know earthquakes,” Moira said, “but that felt big.”

“It was,” I told her. “We used to get them a lot in San Francisco. They were really bad in the last few years.”

I didn't mention it was because of the Godelan and their big plans for the world.

“It was full of magic,” Seth said. “I could see it all tangled in there.”

Moira nodded.

“Well, can you untangle it?” Garrison asked.

Seth and Moira looked at each other uncertainly.

“Well?” Garrison pressed. “Can you?”

“We could try,” Moira said, looking at Seth for confirmation. “But we'd need time. If it's something like a wave, we would have to stop it for a while.”

It was my turn to look uncertain. “That's a pretty big ask.”

“Do we have a choice?” Seth asked.

Sirens sounded across the island and were followed by more screams and scrambling. The noise sounded old, like something from a black-and-white movie, and echoed throughout the town.

“What's that?” Moira asked.

“Tsunami warning,” Garrison answered.

He led the way down the hill to the beach, where we faced the direction the earthquake was coming from. The water was already much higher than I remembered it. A lot of the sand seemed to have broken away. Tourists who hadn't noticed were still suntanning and walking along the beach. That changed as the water began to recede.

I couldn't believe my eyes. The water left the beach as if it was being sucked away by the ocean. Some searched for people who had been in the water when the quake struck and were swept terrifyingly away as the water raced back toward the ocean.

“It's happening,” Seth whispered.

I was horrified. Screaming people surrounded us, running. The sirens were still blaring and yet the little island was defenceless against the vastness of the sea. All I could think was that I was not ready.

Within minutes, only the four of us remained on the beach. We stood side by side as I tried to imagine what drowning was like and if I would get another life after this one if this killed me.

In hindsight, I was a mess of fear, panic, resolve, and several other emotions I can't even pinpoint. I was sorry that we would probably die, and I was angry at Kian for not being there to help us. At the same time, I was happy he wasn't and hoped he was safe somewhere far away.

The wind was rising and my hair whipped my face. Sand blew into our eyes and I breathed it in. I felt Seth take my hand.

“Gwen,” he yelled above the storm, “you have to reconnect!”

It was like trying to push a boulder up a hill. I strained with every ounce of my being to find power.

“I'm trying!” I yelled back.

Garrison took my other hand. “We need to give Seth and Moira time,” he shouted. “Just put everything you have into holding it!”

Easier said than done. I was digging through my mind to try to find the old Gwen. I went through every memory and every dream that had scared me. Magic started to hum in my heart. Then I saw the wave.

From far away, it looked like some kind of science experiment where the water flows in a way that just doesn't make sense. The waves were breaking on each other at the same time as they were gathering speed and size. A few boats that had the misfortune of being in their path disappeared in an instant.

Fear choked down magic.

“Gwen?” Seth yelled.

Either I had blanched or he felt a change in me, but he knew something was off. I felt like I was grasping at straws as I tried to hold my past life close while terrified.

“I'm scared,” I mouthed to keep from shouting in the storm.

Seth looked to either side of us. Moira had gone completely still. Her eyes closed, she looked serene and at peace. Garrison, however, stared at the ocean with an air of fierce determination. I could feel the magic pouring off him in waves.

“You have to find something stronger than fear,” Seth yelled. My eyes filled with tears. I had never tried so hard in my life. “You have the whole story now. Use it!”

Still nothing. The wind made it hard to catch a breath.

“I can't!” I screamed.

He squeezed my hand and a glimmer of magic reappeared in my mind's eye. I chased it, realizing the memory of him had been stronger than anything else in my past, including hatred for the Godelan.

The earth shook, but this time with a steady rumble. The wave was getting close.

“Stop it as far out as possible,” Garrison yelled. “That way if we're not strong enough, we have enough time to at least push it back.”

I turned back to Seth. Panic was mounting. I knew he had made the connection with his past, because it was as if someone else looked back at me through his eyes. Someone who knew me better than I knew myself, and who would do anything for me. There was only one thing I could think to do to coax out the old Gwen.

I closed my eyes and tried to shut out my environment. The wind died away, the sand stopped stinging my face. The earth beneath my feet calmed and the sound of rushing water disappeared. I took a deep breath.

Fine. You win
, I told past Gwen.
You can have him.
And shoving Kian to the very back of my mind, I leaned in to kiss Seth.

As soon as our lips met, the rush of memories over came me. I felt absolute happiness flood my heart, and the magic in my body increased tenfold. Just like the suit of magic I had conjured in New York, it fit me perfectly. As long as I let her be with him, she was close to the surface, and I had her magic.

Fear was replaced by determination and love for my friends, Seth, and everyone else I would save. I had never before felt such a sense of responsibility, but old Gwen had been raised with it. She had the last bits of power in a world free of magic, and it was her responsibility to protect others, especially from the Godelan. I felt how she despised them. Her emotions fuelled me.

I broke our kiss and let the world back in. We were running out of time. Seth smiled at me, and I couldn't tell which man I was looking at.

I held my breath as the wave approached, counting down for it to be within reach. Magic bubbled underneath the water. I braced my feet and closed my eyes, feeling the magic hurdle through the ocean toward the beach.

It was messy, like Seth had said, completely knotted. No one took care with this; it had been pulled together as quickly as possible. But I knew, from somewhere deep inside my memories, that messy magic was also weak magic.

Now!

I heard Seth's voice in my head rather than in my ears. At his call, I put everything I had into stopping the magic in its tracks.

The power Garrison and I had intermingled until we were acting like a wall, but the weight of the Godelans' power was too strong. It pushed back against our defences, and my feet slid backwards in the sand. The wave came closer.

After a few moments, the weight lessened. I could feel the knots unravelling, discarded into the ocean. Seth and Moira were actually doing it.

Still, Garrison and I struggled under the weight and it became hard to breathe. I could feel him beginning to fade next to me. He was slipping into the sand, choking on the power crushing our chests. But we had to hold it, so I pushed harder. Another few moments and the weight weakened again.

A little bit longer,
Seth's voice said in my mind.

My head was buzzing. Breathing was hard. All I could do was force everything I had into the magic, placing it like obstacles in the way of their magic. Though the force was getting weaker, holding it off was getting harder.

We were absolutely exhausted, mentally and physically. The day had been taxing. We'd been poisoned, hiked through the jungle for hours, and lived an entire life in memories.

When I was sure I couldn't take it anymore, I heard Moira in my head.

Let go!

She didn't have to ask twice.

I opened my eyes to see the wave collapse in on itself from very high above us. As the water fell just a short distance from where we stood, I summoned my last ounce of magic to blow us back enough not to be swept out. The water rushed over us and I let it, absolutely exhausted.

I could only relax for a few seconds. Scrambling to all fours, soaked, I stood nearly at the road. Some of the island would flood, but it wasn't that bad.

“I told you to warn me next time you do that,” Seth said. He tried rubbing his eyes with his sleeves, but everything was covered in sand. We found Moira and Garrison nearby. Garrison was so exhausted he could barely walk.

“Kian was right,” he said weakly. “You are the most powerful.”

I scoffed. “Seth and Moira took that thing apart. I could never do that.”

The sight of the beach was surreal. It was like the entire island was a raft set directly in the water.